Product test
Cheap, ugly, but useful: the Gardinia window latch
by Stefanie Lechthaler
Black on white: when mould attacks your window frames
28-3-2023
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
It’s been almost ten years since we moved into our terraced house and replaced all the window frame sealant while we were at it. Fast forward a decade and those seals are no longer a bright white. In an attempt to restore their old beauty, I armed myself with mould removers. Did it work? Find out here.
Despite our efforts, the putty that used to be a crisp white has acquired more and more small black specks of mould in recent years.
The corners, in particular, have turned black. It seems, all that wiping and drying couldn’t prevent a small layer of mould from forming.
Mould on the window frame’s easy to remove, mould on the joints isn’t
For a long time, we weren’t too bothered by this. It was a gradual process, after all. But almost exactly ten years after moving in, I was ready to give those putty seals a makeover.
I ordered various [mould removers from Galaxus](search?q=mold remover&is=mold) to fight the mould stains around our windows.
To find out if the cleaners vary in terms of cleaning power, I used a different one in each of the five rooms.
I applied the window sealant in the morning and let it sit for a few hours. Incidentally, that’s also what the instructions say on the bottles.
Armed with a sponge, a rag and quite a bit of anticipation, I set about cleaning in the afternoon. I selected two test fields for my endeavour. First, I got to work on the mould that had grown inside the window frames.
When I scrubbed away at the mould a few hours after spraying, most of it came off easily. Success!
Things proved trickier when I tried to remove the mould on the putty seals. I wasn’t happy with the first result, so I sprayed the seals again and let the mould remover sit overnight. This did noticeably improve things visually.
However, I didn’t manage to completely remove the mould stains, despite the putty seals being exposed to the cleaning agent for almost 24 hours in total.
The chlorine cleaner pushed me, and especially my wife, over the edge
The smell reminded me of bleach, which is often used for cleaning or, well, bleaching. This is because bleach contains chlorine among other agents.
But it’s not just the smell of the chlorine-based cleaner that’s a downer. Chlorine also causes irritation to the skin and eyes, so contact should be avoided. In other words, make sure to use rubber gloves when applying this type of cleaner.
Renewing the putty sealant seems unavoidable
Even though the result wasn’t entirely satisfactory, my declaration of war against mould still proved worthwhile.
But as the saying goes: better safe than sorry. So I’m going to apply some extra mould protector to the putty. Let’s see if it works.
However, if the seals continue to discolour over the next few years – and I fear that’s exactly what they’ll do – there are really only two options, both of which are pretty uncool. I could replace them myself.
Sadly, that’s not only time consuming, but also tricky in terms of getting good results.
Or I could have them replaced by professionals. Just like I did ten years ago. But that’s really pricey. Maybe we’re better off living with the black spots around our windows.
Header image: Martin Rupf
Martin Rupf
Senior Editor
martin.rupf@digitecgalaxus.chHalf-Danish dad of two and third child of the family, mushroom picker, angler, dedicated public viewer and world champion of putting my foot in it.
